Lawn Bowling Team Outing @ Brit's

Minnesota Lightning Soccer Game

Jack Johnson Concert @ Rivers Edge

Air Guitar Regional Championships

The Long Road Home

We checked out of our hostel at about 10:00 a.m. and headed out on our long journey home. It started out pretty good and the weather in Amsterdam was absolutely phenomenal. Fortunately, we’ve had pretty good weather our whole trip. It never really got hot and I’m very thankful for that because in Amsterdam we didn’t have the luxury of air conditioning in our hostel.

Our first train ride was from the central Amsterdam train station to the Amsterdam airport. We took advice from some people we met the previous night and tried to ride the one stop to the airport without buying a ticket. After all, throughout the entire trip, we have never been checked on the intercity trains so we thought that was a great idea. Unfortunately, our luck ran out on the way to the airport. Fortunately, the “train police” were kind to us and only made us pay a fraction of the actual fine. It was definitely something we laughed about later.

Once we got to the airport it was relatively smooth sailing. Our flight out of Amsterdam left on time. We were once again in business class, which was absolutely amazing for a long flight. We had a three hour layover in Detroit, which went off without a hitch and left on time, but then we were stuck in the air for about an hour and forty five minutes longer than the flight should have taken because of bad weather in Minneapolis. We got in about 10:00 and I was on the Light Rail with my backpack by 10:45 or so. I didn’t sleep at all on the plane because I wanted to get properly acclimated to the Minneapolis time zone again. So by the time I went to bed I had been about for a little over 24 hours straight. To my surprise, I was actually feeling pretty good for staying up that long. It didn’t really hit me until about 2:00 P.M. the next day. I’m struggling to finish writing this right now.

And now for the big wrap up. All in all, the trip was amazing. We accomplished what we needed to at the business conference and we successfully transitioned from business mode to vacation mode for the last few days. My traveling partner from work was a true pleasure to travel with. We share the same innate curiosity that drives us to better understand the people and culture of the places we visit. It helped us stay on the same page throughout the trip.

As usual, traveling changed my perspective on the world once again. It gave me something that I feel I’ve been missing for a long while…. A certain sense of fulfillment. It showed me that the world can still surprise me.

The Long Road Home

We checked out of our hostel at about 10:00 a.m. and headed out on our long journey home. It started out pretty good and the weather in Amsterdam was absolutely phenomenal. Fortunately, we’ve had pretty good weather our whole trip. It never really got hot and I’m very thankful for that because in Amsterdam we didn’t have the luxury of air conditioning in our hostel.

Our first train ride was from the central Amsterdam train station to the Amsterdam airport. We took advice from some people we met the previous night and tried to ride the one stop to the airport without buying a ticket. After all, throughout the entire trip, we have never been checked on the intercity trains so we thought that was a great idea. Unfortunately, our luck ran out on the way to the airport. Fortunately, the “train police” were kind to us and only made us pay a fraction of the actual fine. It was definitely something we laughed about later.

Once we got to the airport it was relatively smooth sailing. Our flight out of Amsterdam left on time. We were once again in business class, which was absolutely amazing for a long flight. We had a three hour layover in Detroit, which went off without a hitch and left on time, but then we were stuck in the air for about an hour and forty five minutes longer than the flight should have taken because of bad weather in Minneapolis. We got in about 10:00 and I was on the Light Rail with my backpack by 10:45 or so. I didn’t sleep at all on the plane because I wanted to get properly acclimated to the Minneapolis time zone again. So by the time I went to bed I had been about for a little over 24 hours straight. To my surprise, I was actually feeling pretty good for staying up that long. It didn’t really hit me until about 2:00 P.M. the next day. I’m struggling to finish writing this right now.

And now for the big wrap up. All in all, the trip was amazing. We accomplished what we needed to at the business conference and we successfully transitioned from business mode to vacation mode for the last few days. My traveling partner from work was a true pleasure to travel with. We share the same innate curiosity that drives us to better understand the people and culture of the places we visit. It helped us stay on the same page throughout the trip.

As usual, traveling changed my perspective on the world once again. It gave me something that I feel I’ve been missing for a long while…. A certain sense of fulfillment. It showed me that the world can still surprise me.

Amsterdam Day 2

Today we grabbed a leisurely breakfast along one of the canals in downtown Amsterdam and then headed to the Van Gogh Museum. I’m not a huge art fan, but I do appreciate Van Gogh’s work and some of my favorite art comes out of the Impressionist period. So I was excited to visit the museum.

It was interesting reading about Van Gogh’s history and seeing some of his most revered work. While I was walking through the exhibit I definfintely was able to relate to Van Gogh a little more than I ever thought I would. The museum did a great job of conveying his struggle to find his place in the world and leave a lasting mark before he faded away. I was surprised to learn that he didn’t really start painting until about 8 years before his death. He seemed to restlessly wander from location to location doing a variety of jobs before he became a painter.

When he started painting he felt all the pangs of uncertainty that any of us would face when embarking on a drastically new career. For some reason I have always had this picture in my head that all great artists understand their greatness and the legacy they are leaving to the world. They know they are making something special and it’s just a matter of it being found and appreciated. After reading Van Gogh’s personal letters, it was evident that he was incredibly uncertain about what he was doing and what his contribution would be to the world.

Towards the end of his life, doctors think he had developed Epilepsy and he checked himself into a mental institution for a while because no one really understood the condition back then. After that he seemed to completely lose faith in himself and ended up taking his life at 37 years old. He never knew the impact that his work would have on the generations that came after him. It deeply saddens me that he left this world thinking he was a complete failure. He never imagined that history would later look back on him as one of the most revolutionary painters to ever pick up a paint brush.

Even a painter of his caliber struggled to find meaning and purpose in his life. I don’t know if that means there is more or less hope for us finding those answers. But I think it does show us that none of us are alone in this quest.

After the Van Gogh museum we took a canal tour of the city that was pretty run of the mill. Then we hit up a bar that was recommended by one of my coworkers called Golem. It was a quaint bar in a small off the beaten track alley. The bar had a million and a half beers available and the inside of the bar looked like it would be better suited for a small loft apartment than an actual bar. But nonetheless, these are the type of places I love.

The first thing that strikes you when you walk into the bar is the beer list of course. But shortly after that I looked around at the patrons surrounding the bar and they were almost all locals. It reminded me of a book I read recently called the Tender Bar. The people were friendly and Syril the bartender was a great host. We ordered my new favorite beer of choice Leffe Blonde (a Belgium beer) followed by several Delerium’s. After hanging out for a bit, the bar started getting more and more crowded. So we took a table up at the top level of the little bar and a few moments later we were talking to the group of people next to us. We learned that two of them were actually from Minneapolis (what are the chances of that?). One was a teacher and the other worked at the Bedlam theater. They were on a month long trip and were squatting at the apartment of a friend in Amsterdam. So we talked with them for a while and then headed out around 12:00 or so to wander around the city.

On the walk home we came across the famous couple streets with windows of prostitutes. At that time of night there were probably 25 girls, one in each window, basically showcasing themselves in bikini’s and other scantily clad clothing. This was a truly eye opening experience. As most people know, prostitution is legal in Amsterdam (among other things), so it’s not every day you come across women legally selling their bodies. I’ve always had this visceral negative reaction to prostitution that I think has been engrained in me for a long while by my practically Puritan upbringing. I had this perception in my head that walking down “hooker row” and looking through these windows would be a depressing ordeal. I imagined that these women would all be selling their bodies because they have no other choice. I imagined that each of them would be plagued by disease and their bodies would show it. After seeing the whole environment, it really changed my perspective.

It was about 1:00 A.M. by now. The streets were quite busy at that hour with a variety of people wandering about and checking out the women in the Macy’s like store windows. As we walked past one window after another, I didn’t feel the depressing soul crushing sadness that I thought I would. Most of the women we saw were drop dead gorgeous and actually looked enthusiastic about doing their job. They seemed to almost take a certain pride in it all. The way the windows work is that these women rent a window for an 8-10 hour shift for 60-150 euro depending on the location. Then they charge 40 to 50 euros for 15-20 minutes of sex (reference: Wikipedia). Prostitution is treated like any other self employed trade job in Amsterdam. They get access to the social security system, can form unions, and have to pay income tax.

I’ve traveled more than most people I know, but I’ve never seen anything like “hooker row”. In a way, it really forced me to humanize prostitution much more than I ever did before. I’m still not a supporter of women selling their bodies, but the whole trip definitely changed the way I think about it.

Amsterdam Day 1

We traveled by train to Amsterdam this morning direct from Brussels Nord. The train ride was fairly uneventful. We went through lots of country side and had several stops along the way picking up a variety of interesting people. One of them was a girl named Ashmael from Morocco who we struck up a conversation with along the way. She was incredibly easy on the eyes and spoke bits of broken english. We found out that she had been living in Amsterdam for the last four years. Not real sure what she did for a living but, we were able to make very small talk with her.

When we first got on the train I was a bit concerned because there were so many American’s it was ridiculous. But after arriving and getting setup at our place, I realized those concerns were unfounded. Since we’ve been here we haven’t seen a many American’s at all. We’ve actually met more Canadian’s than anything. On the other hand, it might have something to do with where we are staying. We’re staying in a hostel called St. Christopher’s at the Winston in the heart of the red light district. I know you are all probably getting incredibly seedy images in your head right now, but honestly, the area isn’t any where close to as bad as I thought it would be. It’s actually a pretty cool place where lots of young backpackers hang out. It has about a billion bars in the few square miles that encompass the area which mostly stay open extremely late. Sure there is the occasional sex shop and “coffeehouse” every few store fronts, but since we’ve been here I really haven’t felt even remotely unsafe.

The hostel is clean and friendly. It resides above a great little bar called Belushi’s that has two for one specials on various drinks most of the day. The reception area is actually in the bar. The rooms are pretty much dorm style and my travel companion and I have two twin beds with a bathroom that is about 3 x 3. With all that said, it still seems like it’s going to be a great place to stay. It’s also incredibly cheap when you compare it to some of the hotels in the area.

After we got situated at the hostel we took off and headed to the Anne Frank House. We were able to get our bearings pretty quickly (for a change) and find the museum without getting too lost. The whole exhibit was incredibly moving. I read the Diary of Anne Frank several years back and I remember thinking that her words were so profound for a little 13 year old girl. The story is heartbreaking and just being in the location where it all happened really left me speechless. In a way, I feel like the exhibit showcases the best and worst of humanity.

First, you have these people suffering extreme anguish in many forms because of oppression based on who they are and what they believe. A whole lot of people, not only in Germany but in other countries as well, thought that the Jewish people should actually be wiped off the face of the earth. In one breath it makes you think there is no hope for us living in a free and tolerant world. But then you read and hear the words of Anne Frank. Somehow she was able to keep this intensely optimistic perspective on the whole situation. Throughout the whole diary her words show you that she was able to hold on to this hope of a better world and she was able to forgive her oppressors. Even after everything she went through, somehow she hung on to compassion over hatred no matter how cruel her oppressors may have been to her friends and family.

It amazed me that she was able articulate all of this so clearly even at such a young age. The exhibit was definitely all that I hoped for and my travel companion and I had some great discussions about the whole thing.

After that was over we walked around Amsterdam for quite some time just exploring the various neighborhoods. Once again, we got lucky with the Euro Cup and had the unique privlege of watching Holland play against Italia while we were in Holland. The bars were packed with people and the excitement in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife. We actually ended up talking with this interesting guy named Adam from Canada at the bar next to our hostel in the Red Light District. He had been traveling for five weeks and was helping to build houses in Egypt and Jordan. He was in Amsterdam on his own for a bit of a layover and definitely shared some great stories with us. For those of you that know me, I’m definitely a sucker for great travel stories so we got along great. After the game was over we wandered around for a bit longer and then headed back to the hostel. It was actually an early night for us and we were in bed by 2:00 A.M.

Brussels Day 2

It was another fine day in Brussels for us. My coworker and I took a bus/walking tour around the city and then proceeded to learn the nuances of the Brussels metro system. Brussels really is at the center of Europe. It seems you can get everywhere from here via train.

After our tour, we took the tram to the north side and went to a spanish festival they were having in the park where the Atomium is located. It was packed with people and reminded me a lot of the Taste of Chicago (except the spanish version). I’ve been trying every exotic food I can get my hands on (which will probably catch up to me after a while). But at the spanish festival I had something called Jumba which, as far as I could tell, was a certain kind of jumbalya. It was mixture of crawfish, rice, oysters, peppers. It was really pretty delicious. There were a ton of locals at this festival so I feel like we really had a chance to emerge ourselves in one of the many sub cultures of this city.

After the festival we tried to go to mini europe but sadly it closes during the week at 5:00. So we missed the closing time. Instead we wondered around the city for a while and stopped at an internet cafe. Then headed back to the main district where we were staying. We decided to chill out and hit up an Irish pub called O’Reily’s and we happened to come across a huge soccer game going on. Poland and Germany were playing in the first round of the Euro Cup and the Irish pub was packed with people. It reminded me a lot of the World Cup atmosphere that I experienced back at Brit’s a few summers ago. It was truly an insane envoirment. It’s amazing to see the sense of nationalism that europeans get rooting for their soccer team. I’ve never seen such passion for a sports team. It’s truly an electric enviornment that is just fun to be around.

After the bar cleared out, we hung out on the rooftop deck pretty much until bar close enjoying the fine weather and scenery. The rooftop of O’Reily’s was overlooking a monument in downtown Brussels which I’m pretty sure was older than our country. While we were there we struck up a fun conversation with our waitress. The waitress was a young thin blond with a pretty thick russian sounding accent. She happened to be Serbian but spoke very good English. Her name was Alena and she just finished her undergraduate in Political Affairs at a small college in Brussels. She was working at the pub to get some money so she could get her Master’s degree. She said her goal was to one day become the president of Serbia. Usually I would laugh at a comment like that, but she said it with a certain gravity that really captivated you. I really enjoy talking to people who still have the will power and fortitude to follow their dreams. We got to know her a little bit after talking to her off and on for a couple hours. I truly hope she is successful in her endeavor to become President.

Brussels Day 1

Today we travelled to Brussels via high speed ICE train from Dusseldorf. I always love traveling across Europe on the high speed trains because they really are light years ahead of the train travel we have in the U.S. We reached 250 km/h for a good portion of the trip and it was immensly enjoyable. We had a short transfer in Cologne and had the opportunity to take some pictures of a magnificent (medevial) cathedral that was absolutely breathtaking. Then we got into Brussels at around 1:00 P.M and proceeded to hit the town.

We checked into our hotel at the Bedford in downtown Brussels which ended up being pretty nice. I was able to get an extremely good deal on the room rate so my coworker and I are splitting the room.

First impressions of Brussels is that it’s extremely quaint. It actually reminds me a lot of the port city in Crete that I visited last summer. There are a lot of alleyways and cobblestone walkways, not to mention a plethora of bars and restaurants that attract people of all ages.

Our first night here we had some great pizza at a small italian place down the road from the Grand Place area. Then we decided to walk across town to see a few local bands. We ended up in this warehouse (that reminded me a lot of 7th street entry) which was kind of in the middle of a random residential district. The venue was pretty sweet but the rock bands that played were a little harder than what I typically like (similar to AC/DC) on the stage. We stayed there for a bit and then made our way back to the main restaurant and bar district so our ear drums could recover. On the way, I’m pretty sure we passed 3 or 4 hookers that were residing in the surrounding areas around the live music venue we visited. It was definitely an interesting location.

Once we got back to the main bar district we sat outside for a while and just people watched while drinking a random selection of belgium beers. I had my first experience with cherry based beer which is very different from any beer I’ve ever tasted. It is actually quite good, but far too sweet for me to pick up drinking it as a normal habit.

Once 1:30 rolled around we wandered back towards our hotel and took some pictures of the Grand Place at night. Tomorrow we are going to find some waffles for breakfast and grab a tour of Brussels that was recommended in one of the guides that I borrowed from my brother in law (who lived here for a month or so a few years ago).

Dusseldorf

The last two days in Dusseldorf have been quite a whirlwind.

Our first night we wandered towards the “old town” in Dusseldorf which reminds me of St. Anthony Main in Minneapolis. It’s filled with brick walkways and cafes with the beautiful Rhine rivers just a few blocks away. Last night we ended up having some great white fish for dinner and then proceeded to bar hop around old town.

We first chilled out at a few different outdoor cafes and people watched for a while. Then found this hole in the wall bar called “Da Spiegel” that had a band playing in a small area on the second floor of the bar. They were actually pretty good even though they played a lot of American classic rock. It was interesting to see how American culture has seeped into so many different areas of the German culture. At the bar I had my first experience with “Alt” beer, which is a local Dusseldorf beer. It was absolutely delicious. We ended up staying out at the bar until dawn just listening to great music and mingling with the german people.

Europe '08

Today I embark on my first international trip for “the company”. I’ll be headed to Dusseldorf Germany for a conference highlighting some new print technologies. The circumstances around my trip overseas last time around was markedly different than this trip, but I am taking a few extra personal days so I can travel to Belgium and the Netherlands while I am in that part of the world.

Some of the benefits of traveling for the company I feel like I’m going to enjoy:
1) Business Class Roundtrip Flights
2) Luxury hotels in Germany
3) A Company Perdium

I’ve never flown business class before, so I’m really looking forward to chronicling the experience. I got to the airport a little early because I heard that a business class ticket would get me access to the Northwest Business Class lounge. I read a little about this lounge on the internet before I came here today so I had pretty high expectations. Thus far, I have to say I’m a little underwhelmed.

I frequent the Minneapolis airport mainly for personal travel and I’ve always been mildly intrigued by the seemingly wonderous world that lay just beyond the large frosted glass sliding doors at the precipice of the Northwest Business Class lounge. Would the perk of having access to this luxurious lounge truly be worth the exorbitantly priced business class ticket? In my humble opinion, absolutely not. Sure you get access to free coffee and alcoholic beverages. There are also a few random flat screen tv’s and free wireless, but all in all the lounge reminds me of a nice hospital cafeteria.

As far as I can tell, there seem to be two types of people in the lounge. Weathly older individuals and weary business travelers.

The wealthy older individuals have this air of entitlement about them. They seem to relish the fact that they don’t have to sit with the commoners outside of their terminal.

The weary business travelers have a certain quiet desperation that seems to radiate from every word they speak. They trudge in and out of the lounge grabbing a beverage or a cookie before rushing off to catch their next flight to somewhere important. It’s almost a depressing site to watch. It makes me really thankful that I didn’t jump into the consulting world after college.

Take me back to my people… you know the ones who bring granola bars in their day packs and carry empty water bottles through TSA security so they can fill them up on the other side without paying for a two dollar bottle of water. I think that’s where I belong. But I digress… on to Germany!